NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 1/7/20

Matt Hiatt Jan 7th, 2020
Markus Howard headlines a big Tuesday slate as he has a favorable home matchup with Providence. Who else should you be targeting?

College basketball season is entering conference play, and we have a ten-game slate tonight.

March Madness is months away, but you can get in all the college hoops hype by playing daily contests at FanDuel today. If you've played NBA DFS before, it's quite simple: pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards, and one utility spot you can use for either position. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

Where scoring differs from NBA is in the blocks and steals categories, with each worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in daily NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Markus Howard, Marquette ($8,300) - Howard leads the nation in scoring (25.8 points per game). He owns an astounding 37.2% usage rate (fifth in the country, per Ken Pom), and he's topped 40 FanDuel points in four out of his last five games. Howard is my top overall play on the slate.

Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton ($6,700) - Zegarowski leads the Creighton Bluejays in scoring (18.7 per game) and assists (4.7). He also rarely leaves the court as he's logged at least 38 minutes in three out of the last four games. Despite that, his price tag has fallen from $7,300 last week to $6,700 for tonight's slate. Take advantage of the discount while you can. His teammates, Ty-Shon Alexander ($6,800) and Mitch Ballock ($6,100), also play a ton of minutes and have intriguing salaries.

Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers ($5,900) - Harper Jr. instantly becomes the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' most important player with second-leading scorer Geo Baker out for an indefinite amount of time. In one game sans Baker, Harper scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, assisted on three baskets, blocked two shots, and recorded a steal in 30 minutes. Harper is one of the best value plays on the slate with Baker out.

Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky ($5,000) - Quickley owns the third-highest usage rate (21.2%) amongst the Kentucky Wildcats. He's played at least 30 minutes in five consecutive games. In the last two contests, the sophomore scored 18 and 23 real-life points against the stout defenses of Louisville and Missouri. Louisville is 15th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense metric while Missouri is 28th. On tap is a juicy matchup with Georgia. The Bulldogs are 68th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense metric. Quickley would receive another sizable boost if Kentucky's Ashton Hagans is limited or misses the game (expected to play but is deemed a game-time decision).

Caleb McConnell, Rutgers ($4,500) - With Baker sidelined, McConnell started at point guard in the Scarlet Knights' 79-62 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He proceeded to score 20 points, grab five rebounds, and dish out five assists in 32 minutes. He's underpriced for his new role.

Forwards

Lamar Stevens, Penn State ($7,300) - Stevens is a menace on both ends of the court. He's averaging 16.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.7 blocks/steals in 28.6 minutes. He's one of the safest plays in this price range as he's topped 23.3 FanDuel points in five consecutive games.

Myles Johnson, Rutgers ($6,500) - Johnson has gone for at least 35 FanDuel points in three straight games. However, his price has remained stagnant. With Baker out, Johnson will need to get more aggressive on the offensive end, raising his floor and ceiling.

Nick Richards, Kentucky ($6,100) - Richards has posted a double-double in each of the last two games (Louisville and Missouri). The junior is finally figuring it out after two inconsistent seasons at Kentucky. His ceiling is unmatched in his current price range as he owns three games with at least 40 FanDuel points this season.

Saddiq Bey, Villanova ($5,900) - Bey is a valuable DFS asset due to his ability to contribute across the board. The sophomore is averaging 14.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks/steals in 30.9 minutes. Up next is a solid matchup with Creighton's suspect defense (90th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense metric). His teammates, Collin Gillespie ($6,100) and James Robinson-Earl ($5,700), are also good plays at their price tags.

Toumani Camara, Georgia ($4,500) - The freshman was a consensus four-star recruit. Camara has seen his role grow as the Bulldogs enter SEC play. After playing limited minutes to start the season (15 minutes or less in each of the first six games), Camara has see at least 24 minutes in five straight games. He's averaging 10.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 0.67 assists, and 2.0 blocks/steals over the last three games. That equates to 21.7 FanDuel points, which is more than enough to pay off his cheap price tag.


Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.